1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to a composition for preventing or treating hearing loss, wherein the composition includes carbenoxolone or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts as an effective component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hearing loss is a disorder that affects 5% to 20% of the whole population, where the population having hearing loss has increased due to environment pollution and population aging of the modern society. When once-occurred hearing impairment lasts permanently, prevention of the occurrence is important.
Most of hearing loss is caused by environmental factors and genetic factor such as drugs (anticancer agents or antibiotics), noise-induced, traumatic, age-related, and congenital factors, which is mainly caused by damages and death of auditory cells. Although most of studies on the auditory cell damage have been related to noise-induced hearing loss, studies on hearing loss caused by ototoxic drug damage mechanism have been insufficient.
A cisplatin anticancer drug is one of typical ototoxic drugs, which occurs serious side-effects such as hearing impairment and equilibrium function impairment or generates irreversible bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. It has been reported that the cisplatin anticancer drug ototoxicity generates auditory impairment in about 30% of cisplatin-takers, and the auditory impairment occurrence frequency was even higher in children as it is about 50%. However, cisplatin has been widely used due to its excellent anticancer treatment effects.
In this regard, most of studies on a treatment method for preventing hearing loss, where the prevention is induced by a cisplatin anticancer drug, have confirmed ototoxicity reduction effects caused by induction of glutathione increasing antioxidant genes and reduction in reactive oxide hyperactivity by using antioxidizing agents such as Bucillamine, vitamin E, Caffeic acid, or N-acetylcysteine as prevention or treatment method using antioxidant. However, understanding of ototoxic hearing loss is insufficient, and there is no significant prevention drug.